WASHINGTON (February 22, 2019) – The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) announced today that Ag America, the nation’s top organization dedicated to electing and supporting Republican state agricultural leaders, would join the RSLC as its fourth major caucus. Ag America joins RSLC’s other three caucuses; the Republican Lieutenant Governors Association (RLGA), the Republican Secretaries of State Committee (RSSC), and the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee (RLCC) along with RSLC’s Judicial Fairness Initiative (JFI), Future Majority Project (FMP), and Right Women, Right Now (RWRN), to expand the nation’s largest organization dedicated to electing and supporting Republican leadership at the state level.

“With so much of the agricultural community affecting people’s daily lives, it is great that Ag America is joining forces with the Republican State Leadership Committee to further advance responsible policy that governs nearly a trillion dollars of our economy,” said incoming Ag America Chairman Mike Naig, who presently serves as Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture. “The Republican State Leadership Committee has taken Republicans to all-time highs in state level government in the past decade, and that demonstrated record of success only stands to benefit the agricultural community in all fifty states in the decade to come,” Naig added.

The Republican State Leadership Committee invested $45 million in the most recent 2018 election cycle to support and defend candidates between their caucuses and initiatives.

“Ag America represents a dynamic, vibrant sector and brings a new dimension of state leaders to RSLC. It’s another great partnership which will reinforce the RSLC’s core mission while bringing innovative, better results for the next generation of farmers, farm communities, and agricultural consumers – all of us – all across America,” said Matt Walter, President of the Republican State Leadership Committee.

Founded in 2013, Ag America currently supports 11 of the 12 statewide elected agriculture officials and maintains relationships with other state level agriculture leaders throughout the country.

“Agriculture Secretaries, Commissioners, and Directors really do represent the farm team of American politics because as future leaders of our nation, they have a keen sense of the free market, small business, and government regulation,” said outgoing Ag America Chairman and Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles. “Joining forces with the RSLC is a natural transition for this great organization that we have tirelessly built to raise awareness and improve agricultural policy in all fifty states,” Quarles added.

“Ag America joining the Republican State Leadership Committee represents an increased recognition of the important role agriculture commissioners and other agriculture state level officials occupy in ensuring the growth of American agribusiness. During my tenure as Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner, Ag America helped expose me to the ever-expanding industries that are revolutionizing America’s agriculture economy,” said Adam Putnam, former Agriculture Commissioner of Florida. “I look forward to continuing my engagement with the organization and am excited for the growing opportunities to expand Ag America efforts to elect free market conservatives to this office throughout the country,” Putnam added.

For more information on Ag America and the Republican State Leadership Committee, please visit www.rslc.gop/agamerica.

About Ag America

Ag America is the only organization dedicated to electing and supporting Republican Agriculture Commissioners, Secretaries, and Directors. In 2019, the Republican State Leadership Committee welcomed Ag America to its group of state-level caucuses to streamline support for down-ballot candidates. The caucus is committed to protecting America’s Ag future through forward-thinking agricultural reforms, recognizing the importance of agricultural industries to the American economy, and advocating for free-market policies to strengthen America’s farmers and agricultural businesses. Republicans currently control 11 of the 12 statewide elected agriculture commissioner offices and the caucus additionally maintains relationships with other agriculture leaders.

About RSLC

The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) is the largest caucus of Republican state leaders in the country and the only national organization whose mission is to elect Republicans to multiple down-ballot, state-level offices. Since 2002, the RSLC has been working to elect candidates to the offices of lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state legislator, the judiciary and other down-ticket races. State-level Republicans maintain 61 of 99 legislative chamber majorities across the country, hold 25 lieutenant governor seats, and control 29 secretaries of state offices. To learn more about the RSLC, please visit www.rslc.gop or follow @RSLC on Twitter.

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